Kansas School Safety Hotline
1-877-626-8203
Out-of-District Information
Are you an out-of-district family? Interested in additional information regarding attendance in USD 323? The information you need is....
Out-of-District Application Form
If you wish to apply, please complete the application form and return it to the appropriate school. All out-of-district students/families must reapply each year.
Section 504 Student and Parent Rights
The following is a description of student and parent rights granted by federal law. The intent of the law is to keep you fully informed concerning decisions about your child and to inform you of your rights if you disagree with any of these decisions.
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO:
Have your child take part in, and receive benefits from public education programs without discrimination based on a disability.
Have the school advise you as to your rights under federal law.
Receive written notice with respect to identification, evaluation, or placement of your child.
Have your child receive a free appropriate public education.This includes the right to be educated with other students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate.It also includes the right to have the school make reasonable accommodations to allow your child an equal opportunity to participate in school and school-related activities.
Have your child educated in facilities and receive comparable to those provided students without disabilities.
Have your child receive accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 if he/she qualifies.
Have evaluation, educational, and placement decisions made based upon a variety of information sources, and by individuals who know your child, the evaluation data, and placement options.
Have transportation provided to a school placement setting at no greater cost to you than would be incurred if the student were placed in a program operated by the school.
Give your child an equal opportunity to participate in non-academic and extracurricular activities offered by the school.
Examine all records relating to decisions regarding your child’s identification, evaluation, educational program, and placement.
Obtain copies of educational records at a reasonable cost unless the fee would effectively deny you access to the records.
Receive a response from the school to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of your child’s records.
File a complaint with the Section 504 Compliance Coordinator, [insert name and contact information] under the provisions of U.S.D. No. 441 Board Policy KN.
Request mediation to settle disputes arising out of any decision about your child’s identification, evaluation, educational program or placement.
File a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education . . .
Request an impartial due process hearing to settle disputes arising out of any decision about your child’s identification, evaluation, educational program or placement.You and your child may take part in the hearing and have an attorney represent you.
The person at the school who is responsible for Section 504/ADA compliance is:
Name: Kevin Logan
Phone: 785-494-8597
Send Email to Kevin Logan
Address: 9353 Flush Rd, St. George, KS 66535
Teacher Qualifications
Parents may request information regarding professional qualifications of their child's classroom teacher or state assessment scores.
Educational Rights Of Students In Homeless Situations
If you lack permanent housing, because of extreme poverty or from lack of a safe and stable living arrangement, or know of anyone in our district who does, homeless have educational rights.
For information about your rights, please contact one of the following:
Rock Creek Jr. Sr. High (785) 494-8591 or (785)457-3688
St. George Elementary (785) 494-2482
Westmoreland Elementary (785) 457-3462
District Office (785) 494-8597
You can also view information about homeless education rights here: Homeless Education Rights Website
Special Education Services
USD 323 is part of the Special Education Services Cooperative, which also includes the school districts of Wamego and Mill Creek Valley. You can access their web-site here:
State Assessment Scores
Parents may request access to their child's state assessment scores by contacting their child's school.
ANNUAL NOTICE TO PARENTS AND STUDENTS OF RIGHTS
UNDER THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT
Under the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), parents of students and eligible students (those who are 18 or older) are afforded various rights with regard to educational records that are kept and maintained by Unified School District No. 323. In accordance with FERPA, you are required to be notified of those rights which include:
1. The right to review and inspect all of your educational records, except those which are specifically exempt. Records will be available for your review within 45 days of the day the district receives your request for access.
2. The right to prevent disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in your educational records to other persons, with certain limited exceptions. Disclosure of information from your educational records to others persons will occur only if:
a. we have your prior written consent for disclosure;
b. the information is considered âÂÂdirectory informationâ and you have not objected to the release of such information; or
c. disclosure without your prior consent is permitted by law.
The district may disclose, without your consent, personally identifiable information to school officials with a legitimate educational interest. A school official is a person employed by the school as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel); the school board (in executive session); a person or company with whom the school has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist); or a parent or student serving on an official committee such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility or duties.
The district will disclose a studentâÂÂs education records to officials of another school district in which the student seeks or intends to enroll without your consent and without further notice that the records have been requested or forwarded.
3. The right to request that your educational records be amended if you believe the records are misleading, inaccurate, or otherwise in violation of your rights. This right includes the right to request a hearing at which you may present evidence to show why the record should be changed if your request for an amendment to your records is denied in the first instance.
4. The right to file a complaint with the Family Policy and Regulations Office at the U.S. Department of Education if you believe that Unified School District No. 323 has failed to comply with FERPAâÂÂs requirements. The address of this office is 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 4074, Washington, DC 20202-4605.
5. The right to obtain a copy of Unified School District No. 323 policies for complying with FERPA. A copy may be obtained from the school district office.
Directory Information: For purposes of FERPA, Unified School District No. 323 has designated certain information contained in educational records as directory information. This information may be disclosed for any purpose without your consent. This information can be disclosed without consent because it is the type of information that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. The following information is considered directory information: name, address, telephone number, electronic mail address, date and place of birth, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees, honors and awards received, the most recent previous school attended by the student, class designation or grade level, enrollment status (e.g., undergraduate or graduate, full-time or part-time), major field of study, videos, and photographs.
You have a right to refuse to permit the designation of any or all of the above information as directory information. If you refuse, you must file written notification to this effect with Unified School District No. 323 at the school district office or your child's school. If a refusal is not filed, Unified School District No. 323 assumes you have no objection to the release of the directory information designated.
Recruiting information: Military recruiters and institutions of higher education are entitled under federal law to a list of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of high school students unless you object to the release of this information. If you notify your principal in writing at any time that you do not wish your child's name, address, and telephone number released without your written consent, we will honor that request.
Limited Bus Schedule-- See Weather Related Information & Limited Bus Plan
USD 323 Title I Ed-Flex Waiver:
The addition of $53,925 in Title I ARRA funds enabled USD 323 to provide additional part time Title I teacher opportunities at our St. George Elementary building. Since the ARRA funds were a one-time allocation from the federal government, this year is the end of that funding for our schools. Last year, the district was able to carryover more than 15% of the Title I ARRA budgets to provide for additional supports for the 2010-2011 school year. This required us to fill out a waiver to exceed the maximum carryover of 15%. A district is only able to carryover more than 15% of its Title I budget once every three years unless it submits a Education Flexibility Partnership Act (Ed-Flex) waiver.
USD 323 has purposefully tried to conserve our regular Title I funding to try to be able to carryover enough funding to continue the program for another year that we have been able to provide due to the enhanced funding we received through the ARRA funds. Since we are requesting to carry over more than 15% of our regular Title I funding for a second year in a row, we will need to submit a Education Flexibility Partnership Act.
The Ed-Flex waiver would be used to allow USD 323 to exceed the 15% carry over limitation to enable the Title I schools to:
o Continue to allow S. George Elementary to employ reading and math teacher to work with Title I students during the school day.
Without this waiver, these funds would have to be spent during the 2010-2011 school year and the above mentioned programs would have to be eliminated for the 2011-2012 school year.
TITLE I PARENTS RIGHT TO KNOW
Title I Parent Information:
As a parent of a student who is receiving Title I services, we encourage your involvement in your student's education. In support of that involvement, the following information is provided:
*Feel free to meet with your child's Title I teacher whenever you have questions or concerns.
*Parents are encouraged to participate in both district and school improvement plans. Your Title I teacher or I would be happy to assist you.
*Two Title I Parent Meetings will be scheduled each year.
*Your will have the opportunity to evaluate the Title I program at your child's school. Your input is valuable and needed.
*You will be asked to support your child's Title I program, by supporting and signing a student compact.
'Your child's Title I teacher will give you suggestions on how you can help support your student's learning at home.
As the Rock Creek School District's state and federal programs director, I encourage you to be involved in you child's education. If! or your child's Title I teacher can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you.
Gary L. Glendening
Title I Director
Emergency Safety Interventions
Parent Resource:
ESI Regulations:
ESI BOE Policy
GAAF Emergency Safety Interventions (See GAO, JRB, JQ, and KN) GAAF
The board of education is committed to limiting the use of Emergency Safety Interventions (“ESI”), such as seclusion and restraint, with all students. Seclusion and restraint shall be used only when a student's conduct necessitates the use of an emergency safety intervention as defined below. The board of education encourages all employees to utilize other behavioral management tools, including prevention techniques, de-escalation techniques, and positive behavioral intervention strategies.
This policy shall be made available on the district website with links to the policy available on any individual school pages. In addition, this policy shall be included in at least one of the following: each school’s code of conduct, school safety plan, or student handbook.
Definitions (See K.A.R. 91-42-1)
“Emergency Safety Intervention” is the use of seclusion or physical restraint.
“Seclusion” means placement of a student in a location where all of the following conditions are met: (1) the student is placed in an enclosed area by school personnel; (2) the student is purposefully isolated from adults and peers; and (3) the student is prevented from leaving, or reasonably believes that he or she will be prevented from leaving the enclosed area.
“Chemical Restraint” means the use of medication to control a student’s violent physical behavior or restrict a student’s freedom of movement.
“Mechanical Restraint” means any device or object used to limit a student’s movement.
“Parent” means: (1) a natural parent; (2) an adoptive parent; (3) a person acting as a parent as defined in K.S.A. 72-1046(d)(2), and amendments
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thereto; (4) a legal guardian; (5) an education advocate for a student with an exceptionality; or (6) a student who has reached the age of majority or is an emancipated minor.
“Physical Restraint” means bodily force used to substantially limit a student’s movement, except that consensual, solicited or unintentional contact and contact to provide comfort, assistance or instruction shall not be deemed to be physical restraint.
“Physical Escort” means the temporary touching or holding the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, or back of a student who is acting out for the purpose of inducing the student to walk to a safe location.
“Time-out” means a behavioral intervention in which a student is temporarily removed from a learning activity without being confined.
Prohibited Types of Restraint
All staff members are prohibited from engaging in the following actions with all students:
Using face-down (prone) physical restraint;
Using face-up (supine) physical restraint;
Using physical restraint that obstructs the student’s airway;
Using physical restraint that impacts a student’s primary mode of communication;
Using chemical restraint, except as prescribed by a licensed healthcare professional for treatment of a medical or psychiatric condition; and
Use of mechanical restraint, except:
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Protective or stabilizing devices required by law or used in accordance with an order from a licensed healthcare professional;
Any device used by law enforcement officers to carry out law enforcement duties; or
Seatbelts and other safety equipment used to secure students during transportation.
Use of Emergency Safety Interventions
ESI shall be used only when a student presents a reasonable and immediate danger of physical harm to such student or others with the present ability to effect such physical harm. Less restrictive alternatives to ESI, such as positive behavior interventions support, shall be deemed inappropriate or
ineffective under the circumstances by the school employee witnessing the student’s behavior prior to the use of any ESI. The use of ESI shall cease as soon as the immediate danger of physical harm ceases to exist. Violent action that is destructive of property may necessitate the use of an ESI. Use of an ESI for purposes of discipline, punishment or for the convenience of a school employee shall not meet the standard of immediate danger of physical harm.
Seclusion Restrictions
A student shall not be subjected to seclusion if the student is known to have a medical condition that could put the student in mental or physical danger as a result of seclusion. The existence of such medical condition must be indicated in a written statement from the student’s licensed health care provider, a copy of which has been provided to the school and placed in the student’s file.
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When a student is placed in seclusion, a school employee shall be able to see and hear the student at all times.
All seclusion rooms equipped with a locking door shall be designed to ensure that the lock automatically disengages when the school employee viewing the student walks away from the seclusion room, or in case of emergency, such as fire or severe weather.
A seclusion room shall be a safe place with proportional and similar characteristics as other rooms where students frequent. Such room shall be free of any condition that could be a danger to the student and shall be well-ventilated and sufficiently lighted.
Training
All staff members shall be trained regarding the use of positive behavioral intervention strategies, de-escalation techniques, and prevention techniques. Such training shall be consistent with nationally recognized training programs on the use of emergency safety interventions. The intensity of the training provided will depend upon the employee’s position. Administrators, licensed staff members, and other staff deemed most likely to need to restrain a student will be provided more intense training than staff
who do not work directly with students in the classroom. District and building administration shall make the determination of the intensity of training required by each position.
Each school building shall maintain documentation regarding the training that was provided and a list of participants.
Notification and Documentation
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The principal or designee shall notify the parent, or if a parent cannot be notified then shall notify an emergency contact person for such student, the same day the ESI was used. Documentation of the ESI used shall be completed and provided to the student’s parents no later than the school day following the day on which the ESI was used. The parent shall be provided the following information after the first and each subsequent incident in which an ESI is used during each school year: (1) a copy of this policy which indicates when ESI can be used; (2) a flyer on the parent’s rights; (3) information on the parent’s right to file a complaint through the local dispute resolution process (which is set forth in this policy) and, once it has been developed, the complaint process of the state board of education; and (4) information that will assist the parent in navigating the complaint process, including contact information for Families Together and the Disability Rights Center of Kansas. Upon the first occurrence of an incident involving the use of emergency safety interventions, the foregoing information shall be provided in printed form and upon the occurrence of a second or subsequent incident shall be provided through a full website address containing such information.
In addition, each building shall maintain documentation any time ESI is used with a student. Such documentation must include all of the following:
Date and time of the intervention,
Type of intervention,
Length of time the intervention was used, and
School personnel who participated in or supervised the intervention.
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All such documentation shall be provided to the building principal, who shall be responsible for providing copies of such documentation to the superintendent on at least a biannual basis. At least once per school year, each building principal or designee shall review the documentation of ESI incidents with appropriate staff members to consider the appropriateness of the use of ESI in those instances.
Reporting Data
District administration shall report ESI data to the state department of education as required.
Three (3) Incidents of ESI for Same Student
If a student with an IEP or a Section 504 plan has three incidents of ESI in a school year, then such student’s IEP team or Section 504 team shall meet within ten (10) days following the third incident to discuss the incident and consider the need to conduct a functional behavioral assessment, develop a behavior intervention plan or amend the behavior intervention plan if already in existence, unless the IEP team or Section 504 team has agreed on a different process.
If a student without an IEP or Section 504 plan has three incidents of ESI in a school year, then the school staff and the parent shall meet within ten (10) days following the third incident to discuss the incident and consider the appropriateness of a referral for a special education evaluation, the need for a functional behavioral assessment, or the need for a behavior intervention plan. Any such meeting shall include the student’s parent, a school administrator for
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the school the student attends, one of the student’s teachers, a school employee involved in the incident, and any other school employees designated by the school administrator as appropriate for such meeting.
The student who is the subject of such meetings after a third ESI incident shall be invited to attend the meeting. The time for calling such a meeting may be extended beyond the 10-day limit if the parent of the student is unable to attend within that time period. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the development and implementation of a functional behavior assessment or a behavior intervention plan for any student who has not had three ESI incidents in a school year.
Local Dispute Resolution Process
The board of education encourages parents to attempt to resolve issues relating to the use of ESI informally with the building principal and/or the superintendent before filing a formal complaint with the board. In the event that the complaint is resolved informally, the administrator must provide a written report of the informal resolution to the superintendent and the parents and retain a copy of the report at the school. The superintendent will share the informal resolution with the board of education and provide a copy to the state department of education.
If the issues are not resolved informally with the building principal and/or the superintendent, the parents may submit a formal written complaint to the board of education by providing a copy of the complaint to the clerk of the board and the superintendent within thirty (30) days after the parent is informed of the ESI.
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Upon receipt of a formal written complaint, the board president shall assign an investigator to review the complaint and report findings to the board as a whole. Such investigator may be a board member, a school administrator selected by the board, or a board attorney. Such investigator shall be informed of the obligation to maintain confidentiality of student records and shall report the findings and recommended action to the board in executive session.
Any such investigation must be completed within thirty (30) days of receipt of the formal written complaint by the board clerk and superintendent. On or before the 30th day after receipt of the written complaint, the board shall adopt written findings of fact and, if necessary, appropriate corrective action. A copy of the written findings of fact and any corrective action adopted by the board shall only be provided to the parents, the school, and the state department of education. Once such a procedure has been developed, a parent may file a complaint under the state board of education complaint process within thirty (30) days from the date a final decision is issued pursuant to the local dispute resolution process.
Approved:
KASB Recommendation – 6/13; 12/13; 6/15